Okay – I want to talk about something which was touched on earlier. Ecological Magic. That is how Phil Goldstein described it in ‘FOCUS’. He is the only magician I have seen who has briefly written about this simple idea. The idea being that we can use clever routining to clean up effects – or to set
up effects…

Here are a couple of examples. This is way of approaching method which suggests that this is an area that could be explored further.

1) On the ‘LVMI – Live! 2003’ DVD there is an interesting routine by Daryl. He has a trick where 4 randomly touched cards turn out to be the 4 aces. At the end of that effect he is left ‘unclean’. However – he is in the exact situation required to do Alex Elmsley’s ‘1002nd’ aces effect. So – he does that effect next which leaves him with a ‘clean’ deck which can be either examined or used for other effects. Elegant routining is used here to clean up one effect and to set up for another.

2) Here is a great idea from Johnny Thompson. He performs Alex Elmsley’s BRAINWEAVE effect (probably the strongest THINK-A-CARD trick possible with an ordinary deck). However – there is a problem at the end of that effect. You are left with a mixed deck of cards (some face up and some face down). What Johnny does is give the cards a face up / face down riffle shuffle. He then times the spectator in how long it takes him to straighten out all the face up cards. Johnny then demonstrates how quickly he can do it. He then goes into a TRIUMPH effect… A wonderful solution which I treasure just as much as the original effect by Elmsley…

Now this is something that Phil Goldstein demonstrates in some of the effects in ‘FOCUS’. Also – Roy Walton often stuctures his effects in this way. Two nice examples are TIT FOR TAT (page 90 – VOL.1 of THE COMPLETE WALTON) and Open Acrobatics (July 2004, page 86 – GENII MAGAZINE).

Now – I find it interesting that these are the only examples I have come across of this sort of thinking. I am a big believer in trying to look to unexplored areas when seeking new creative challenges. It stands to reason that treasure still buried in such fields, may not require much digging to uncover.

I have found this avenue to be fun. It means that I have a reason for taking an interest in literally every card trick I come across. Even if it is one that I am not a big fan of – it could still be of use for setting up (or cleaning up) effects that I am fond of…
This level of analysis is important since so much has being discovered in card magic over the past thirty years. An absolutely humongous amount of creativity, publications, DVDs, videos, conventions and time has been spent exploring card tricks in the past few decades. So – it seems likely that the more conventional avenues have already been over-explored…

So – let’s hit the books and get routining. Which effects start ‘clean’ and end ‘dirty’ – and which effects need a ‘set-up’ and end clean? And – more importantly – which combinations help solve the problems latent in both? Can we discover combinations in which the overall routine is stronger that the sum of it’s parts?

This is a topic I have posted on before on one of the magic forums. I just wanted to share it here since it runs nicely with what cardman mentioned earlier .

Is it me or did the magic world open up a little more this past year on speaking up on the same things I’ve hit on in the past? One recently I noticed with my once a month Cafe spree was someone stating they wouldn’t order a streaming video from D+D because they don’t give the option to actually download the video…streaming only.  Others are calling out the bullshit productions at a higher level than usual it seems.  Not to say people haven’t for the past few years, I just think the boyz may be getting a little angry at the whole internet magic rubbish.

No matter what people think of what I’ve said in the past, I can guarantee public domain will take over in the magic world in the future.  The problem perhaps is people think that will put magic secrets all over the web.  This couldn’t be farther from the truth.  If anything hyping up product, asking for whatever fee, and foolishly thinking that’s the proper model of secrecy that works.

It’s easy to get mis-represented on my “protests” for lack of a better term.  I just know the best way for us all to get better in magic is to communicate openly on the web IN PRIVATE.  I’m not saying that anyone should trade any material that has been sold in it’s solid form, but rather you can web cam your boyz and jam on, say the card of the month effects I’ve posted.  If my friends come over and we want to laugh and improve on the brilliant “Harbor Change” we can, and I think few would be offended.  If we web cam from all over the world more start to get offended.  If we put it in an Ebook format to give to the same people more get offended.  None the less, which E-book, video etc, is going to be more distributed on the web?  The one I taped/Ebooked, or the one from T11?  Chances are those people I gave it to would never see the light of the open internet.  Then we should ask the question on how much of it is original?  Ask yourself how much is original of internet magic being sold in the first place.  Not much.  But it’s OK if your selling it?  Think they are all asking for permission to use basic card moves to their so called owners?  Understand a blatant rip off is a blatant rip off sold or not.  A basic move comes down to common sense of age and accessibility.

The point?  My opinion is people should stop buying (single effect downloads, cluster fuck E-books)  and start sharing.  Again, not copyrighted product.  Is it that hard to get  over that hump in magic land that “you can’t say or do that unless you buy this, and even then you can’t say anything to anyone else”?

It’s just a different day in age.  The old model is dead.  Independents will, and are taking over.  Anyone that cruses Youtube even mildly will see many videos have a “WMG Audio Muted” banner.  Ask yourself a simple question.  Who is going to be able to promote their music in the future with kids lip syncing and acting silly.  Independents.  Who are the ones getting a wealth of knowledge amongst their peers?  Independents that write in some form, for the type of artist, from that type of artist without their hand out. Look online and you’ll find many resources for open source books. Hell I subscribed to one RSS and had to get rid of it because they release about 200 a day, thus cluttering my Google Reader.

I’m just happy as hell knowing and reading I’m far from alone.  The only problem is a minority that black flags and stereotypes ones that are open with their passions.  I have not even a speckle in the mind to openly rip off someone blatantly.  That’s the David Castles in our world.  Fuck him and his crew.  Magic to me should always be kept in the underground.  It’s too damn late, but I feel little to none should be left for the general public to see.  Nothing says “public” like selling something in an easily distributed format with huge hype and promotion.

Anyone read my Ebook after Shawn Farquhar’s FISM mess called “Pinky Power”?  Yeah yeah, a couple of you did cause your my friends, and damn straight….it is fucking good.  You didn’t?  Try and find a leak of it.  Now try and find a leak of some T11 or Ellusionist product.  Alas, I’m the bastard cause I gave it out for free, with an original pass, yet based on a late great, and a couple of other effects “mostly original”, but in reality as we should understand in cards “nothing is much original” in the first place.  You can take it to the bank that I’ve never seen anyone ever do a pass of that sort, nor have I ever seen anyone do those effects in that manner….in fact not even close. As I said though, they are in my opinion the best handling.  Why?  Because where flaws were in the past the subject matter of the book is covering everything with pinky counts, Erdnase breaks, and harder hitting climax for laymen than the so called norm.

As a last paragraph I should let it be known that I received DVD’s this past year from two well known magicians.  What’s on them?  Their full library of Ebooks they sell online.  Why?  Cause they agree that ideas can be shared with no strings and as sort of a “pat on the back”, for speaking out against the greedy bitches of the land.  Be aware I am not saying they made that decision just for myself.   One thing they both have in common is they don’t “pimp their product”, as most of the greats never did. By all means go out and make lots of money with magic.  Produce, sell your downloads, Ebooks and keep reminding even the pros that 98 percent of product since internet sales is shit.  Meanwhile as in the past I’ll have my green backs ready for whatever book Kaufman and the like print in the future.  There IS MUCH that should be purchased, unfortunately I think way too much is a con job for greed.  The best stuff is probably on your book shelf.  Why others get so damn excited about something new every week is a mystery to me I never will figure out. Denny fools most seasoned magicians with magic printed before the 1940’s. Speaking of…..well….you all ready know. Denny’s got your Christmas gifts. Real brick and mortar goods that have and will stand the test of time. Support the white knights and stop with the excitable consumer online BS. Start communicating with your brothers. We are thousands….it’s not taboo to embrace modern technology to communicate about magic. The password is….LayLow.

Hit play above, smoke some herbs, snort some paint chips or whatever your vice is.  Don’t eat the brown acid though man…it’s not groovy.  Notice the subtle Beatles theme flowing, coincidence…..perhaps not.

Today Aaron Fisher sent this little nugget out.  He wanted feed back, and I’m the gift that keeps on giving.  I’ll only post the second half, being the first part was just about joining Twitter….which blows moose balls and I don’t give a shit what people ate for breakfast.  Besides I don’t think I can ever hold a 140 character limit.

The second subject I want to share with you today is a new approach to teaching card magic. I’d really love to get your thoughts on this.

Problem: In order for students to master the fundamentals of card magic they need focused, personal instruction. But it’s expensive and time consuming to come work with me in person. Plus, you can’t even
bring shampoo in your carry-on baggage.

Solution: Skype video sessions. I’ve achieved truly great results giving one-on-one video lessons over Skype. It’s the perfect tool for tackling specific techniques, such as the Gravity Half Pass. After all, many of you have seen ME execute this challenging technique, but
I’ve never seen YOU.

Video lessons allow me to watch you, and then help you make modifications – simple adjustments that will vastly improve your performance. Most student who’ve read and studied The Paper Engine find that their handling of the Gravity Half Pass finally ‘clicks’ after just a few focused minutes working with me.

First, you’d have to be Skype user (that’s easy) and have a working camera and microphone. Then we’d get together and work on your Gravity Half Pass. I’d watch you do it, assess your current understanding of the sleight, and then work with you to make it perfect. In some instances, a simple shift in your thinking will be enough. In other cases, we’ll do better to start at the beginning.

In either case, at the end of our lesson, you’ll be getting far better results then ever before.

Only persons who’ve studied the description of the Gravity Half Pass in The Paper Engine would qualify for these lessons. They’d be approximately 45 minutes in length. The cost for the program would be somewhere
between $150 and $250 per session.

I’d like to be able to offer this as a service to my readers, but to do that, I’ll need your help and input. Please send me an email and tell me what you think of this idea.

Here are some questions to think about:

*Do you use Skype? Do you know how?
*Would this program be a help to you?
*What questions or concerns do you have?
*Are there any ideas you might share that could make this program more
effective?

This plan is about helping you improve YOUR magic – so hit ‘reply’
now and let me know what you think!

With Thanks,
Aaron

ps -  make sure to join Twitter!

You may think I don’t like Fisher.  That really isn’t true from a stand point of someone that really takes card magic to heart.  None the less as I stated some time ago I think Paper Engine is horribly over rated and my man could use a dose of modesty and stop with the guru mentality.    Still, I like to think the guy means well over all.

What Aaron is talking about here is something I’ve done for over a decade.  You’ll notice a little tab above labeled StickCam.  My list consists of 31 friends.  Some I had met long ago, some casually online.  At any rate all of them are really good people!  Before that we would just use plain jane Microsoft products to do the same.

My brain works in the same manner constantly when I see someone selling something in the magic world.  I translate everything to purchasing more books when anyone sells “something else”.  250 bucks can get you a nice stack of some books that you’ll flip back to the rest of your life.  How can anyone equate that kind of  knowledge to a little session on the bloody half pass.

John Lennon was my first idol growing up and think I read pretty much every book that released pre-mid 90’s.  In a documentary of his life titled “Imagine” there is a scene in which a fan camped in his garden overnight to try and meet John.  Yoko and John confront him in the morning and John near has to plead to the man that he’s just a regular guy that writes songs.  After a little conversation John invites him in for some breakfast (no charge).  Not only does that keep with the Beatles theme, it shows I’m cool as fuck, and super modest at the same time *canned laughter*.  There is more symbolism in simple events than can be put into text of how generous John was, yet always saw himself as the guy next door.

Thus in many respects I wish Aaron well in his persuit of making money on the other side of Skype.  I like money too!  My mind just doesn’t relate in any manner.  Perhaps we all mistake certain magicians to fame or some other omni-preprogrammed instinct we have.  For now, I’ll just enjoy the company and input of others for free.  Anyone can do the same.  You may surprise yourself how accessable many magicians are out there.

As a quick side note, I mentally put a few visuals in my cranuim while writing this.

Hey Denny, mind if we rap a little about some magic I could use a hand with?

You bet!  Just bring the coffee and a box of smokes

Hey Peter Duffie, can you help me with this routine here?

You bet!  Just let me finish this quiz about pop culture first.

You get the point.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to whore near any art form?  Kiss make caskets so you can be buried and die like you lived “all night long”.  Susan Boyle can sing, which should be a surprise, being her face is oddly square, flat and round.  Whoring any art is just around the corner when quick stepping and a gimmick comes to mind.  Let’s take for instance the following:  best viewed with Vernon in mind performing delicately to a soft oriental piece of music.

Sorry, that was cruel I know.  Oh wait she’s “hot” though.  Wait, didn’t Jackson own that patient?  Bloody hell I cared for just 3 seconds there.  Wait did she just turn that silk around by crossing her arms and made the bunny “vanish?

That was the first video I ever saw of  Krystyn Lambert.  I was called to the television because a magic show was on.   The beginning of that atrocity was exactly where I sat down.  My friends sat in a blank stare when it was over for a good 5 seconds then someone proclaimed “That was really bad”.  We turned the channel and I went back to the computer.  These are my laymen friends for anyone taking note.  As a magician I had no respect for the show, as to say I didn’t care to watch another second.

Beyond Krystyn Lambert needing ALOT more practice (look at her other videos)… she was used on a show that laymen will perceive as the “best” by it’s nature of an award show title.  Do the casters and talent finders have any respect for the art?  She came in and they thought that was Brilliant?  The ghost of Dell ‘ODell is not happy.

Really it wasn’t my intention to just rag on one poor girl.  My intention would be more towards giving some folks some harsh criticisms that they need to get it together and show respect for the art.  Too many on TV and winning awards don’t seem to care at all about the magic, but the publicity they can squeeze out of poor practice and getting their face on TV seems to win awards.

Male or female we need proper representatives to such media.  Winning a magic award for the most part has the valididty of pumping the most milk at the 4H Club.  Can we stop acting like these awards are given proper and have any worth?  Can we get Krystyn Lambert a decent tutor?  Vampire Sperry doesn’t seem to be helping much.

Truth is I wish her the best.  Hopefully she will grow up and take magic a little more seriously.  At worst she’ll open a business selling crowns, let us know she likes diamonds to steady her nerves being everyone is always watching her, use stooges when possible, and join a gang of vigilantes…  Er…..that’s been done by another.

Though this control isn’t horrible it’s not very original, and many have expressed their thoughts as “dodgy” on YouTube.

I wanted to point out in Jennings ‘67 the exact same control is used but finishes with a swing cut instead.  From my perspective this is much more efficient, natural and hidden.  In a nutshell the upper block when swung to the left hand makes it all invisible, slap, done.  In essence the brief awkward motion Chad uses, where most caught on the video is eliminated thanks to the good ol days of Larry without a beard.

It’s a great book to own.  That being one of many superb thoughts that make it more than worth the admission price.  That sounded so Cafe I know *flings a limp wrist*

So many great multiple shifts out there…this isn’t one.

Kid is (just a little bit) correct.

It seems to happen more often within the last decade or so that someone says straight up they don’t like magic.  Perhaps it’s just a matter of the odds, but I think it is about something we all should be aware of.  The “why” and the “now I love it” aspect.

I admit I’ve been offered everything from sexual favors to drugs to….well, pretty much everything people would offer as a “kind gesture”.  Also I’ve changed the minds of more people than I can count on the art.

I run by a simple motto “My intent is strictly for your delight”.  Normally I can tell within a couple of seconds if someone has that “oh shit” vibe.  I simply state that we will just play a game, these things are only meant to be fun and whatnot.  Taking all previous impressions away may be one of those most important things we can do.  I don’t care about all the others I care about ME and THEM at the moment.  When I see Criss Angel I only see a douche bag.  I can’t even concentrate on what the guy is trying to do.  We can’t wonder why some really don’t like magic on some levels even though they have never met an actual magician real time.

In talking with laymen on the subject I’ve found the most prominent problem are flash backs to the “magicians” that make people feel uncomfortable, or the relative that makes 3 piles of 7 cards every time cousin Bob came over in someone’s youth.  Trailing would be the losers that use silly props no one understands in the modern age….like a Freddy Krugar card stab.  As to say, I’ve dragged my friends to watch some magicians they could hardly handle due to the “cheese” factor.  On rare occasions someone may have had a father that took pleasure in making their kids feel stupid over mundane circumstances….these folks are just scarred.  The rest are fair play.

What to do?  Ego amongst magicians performing seems to be fairly common.  Sadly some may never realize just sporting any holier than thou is game over.  On the other hand a healthy ego can do superb justice.  In healthy I’m simply pointing that it is the unseen, unheard ego.  9 times out of 10 I open as the bungler that just learned a few card tricks from grandpa and am nervous to the point it may seem like I’ve made a fool of myself.  Of course the climaxes of such hit harder.  A fellah I hadn’t seen in awhile fairly recently said I was the best magician he’s ever seen (not bad for just cards).  His reasoning was as I stated “You always seem as if you messed up, yet in the end I’d lose sleep because I was so amazed”.  I actually recalled the effect I did that night at a club.  Frankly I did get a little confused as to where I was in the performance is why it stuck out in my mind.  None the less he recalled and felt my “human nature” of being far from perfect or trying to show I’m better than anyone else.  If I recall right him and his buddies shouted a barrage of “fuck you!”  “No way” and the like when the aces returned to the packets.  Through this whole paragraph my point is in healthy ego, all they saw was a humble guy enjoying himself and having fun…cause I am!  On the other hand inside there is nothing wrong with a little “I am the man”.

Anyway, I hope we all address something that may seem simple, but horribly important I think.  So many asshole magicians out there, from time to time the minds of others are going to be tainted.  I LOVE Sydini with all my being, but in fact I think he produced a handful people that saw him and disliked magic with his strange “you no watch you no see” antics.  Though somewhat in good fun it can be somewhat insulting at the same time.

It’s not very hard to turn people onto magic.  We should all step back sometimes and ask ourselves how we are making other people feel.  The insulting, master of the universe, downgrading, elitist, non-smiling, thing is making people dislike magic.  As Max once stated “Magicians are making a profound art form appear trivial”.  I think it should be added that poor persona is turning laymen off also.  Most of the people we admire come across as “nice”.  Ammar, Daryl, Doc, Walton etc.  I can’t imagine anyone going up to them and being a hater.  Then again I’d guess Criss Angel gets called a douche every day.

Do people really hate magic?  It seems the only ones that do were scarred in childhood or don’t want to be bothered with it is all.  It’s the Criss Angels and Tim Ellis’ that make people dislike magic otherwise.  We can thank the Douches and Corn Balls for that.  On the other hand instead we can use those types to our advantage, by doing the polar opposite by not being try hard cheezers, that make people feel awkward or want to kick you in the nuts.  Easy to some, blind to others it seems.

This post came about because I was told by a friend that a magician actually lightly struck a young spectator and was horribly rude in his presentation.  He asked that we all kindly let other magicians know that this style needs to die a fast death.  I couldn’t agree more.

Don’t be the following if you can: *AKA, don’t wonder why or be upset if someone says they hate magic*  *AKAX2, don’t wonder why other magicians hate you also*

Bonus tid bit:  Ellis complained on his blog 2 years ago that someone stole “his” card rap idea.  Just the first dumb enough to actually market it.  Denny was smarter than that *cough*

I didn’t know this simple fact until today for obvious reasons I state in my blog frequently.   Dan and Dave’s site along with Vanishing Inc. both only use streaming servers.  This of course means you don’t get a solid copy of what you have purchased.  That means in essence you own nothing, and can not view the videos as you wish on a slow connection, they crash etc.

This is as per Vanishing Inc.

We care about piracy: Piracy runs rampant through the magic industry, but it stops at Vanishing Inc. We’re proud to have a customer base that rewards the creativity of others by buying the material and not copying or pirating. To encourage this trend, all our video tutorials are streaming videos and work just like all other videos on the Vanishing Inc. website. You can watch them straight from your web browser and your access to them will never expire!

How in the world can someone make a whole web site like this and not understand that this does NOTHING.  I use a small extension in Firefox called “DownloadHelper”.  It has nothing to do with piracy once so ever.  It’s just a plug in that has a very simple job: know when a video is on screen and give me the option to download it.  It doesn’t matter if you know much about computers or not, but one thing should be fairly obvious, the stream you are watching is going somewhere on your computer.

In essence they are not even selling any product.  I know I know, it’s true they are giving you the “rights” and knowledge that is on the video, but it’s no excuse for not letting you download the video on your actual computer for later, put it on your TV, PSP, IPhone etc.

If you REALLY have to buy these silly downloads I suggest snagging something like “Download Helper”.  Your not pirating anything, your just getting what is rightfully yours.  Me?  I just like having it for when I see something I like on Youtube for my pleasure later.  It’s a nice tool.

Dan and Dave and Vanishing got rocks in their heads.  Personally just this simple fact of only streaming to me is enough never to buy anything from either.

Moral of the story is, if you can see it, you can have it for later use.
Buy some books from Denny.  He loves you more.

Ellusionist are very cunning sales people.  The sound tracks are always epic sounding overtures, they make an attempt for everything to look hip, cool and trendy…..everything a gay man wants.

First off, the recording of the demo video is flawed.  He shows a red backed card “change” into the 9 of spades, and then a shot behind the glass shows a blue card.  Ask yourself why that is?  Don’t worry I’ll wait.  Then you notice the card changes again to the king of hearts.  We’ll wait, no worries.

This is a gross misrepresentation of what they are selling with camera tricks.  In this case I think it was an error (a REALLY bad one).  Continuity is very important when selling a product.  Indeed the card could easily be changed from face to face, or face back, but not on three levels.

With that, I thought of two ways to do the effect that would cost roughly one dollar in about 30 seconds.  It would indeed be exactly what is in the video with the car window.  Problem is these types of effects are like rolling dice with laymen.  The reasoning is simple:

When most of us started magic we did the “2 card transpo”.  We learned that it got reactions, but down the line found the error in that some people realize the “2 card transpo”, no pun intended.  Many will and should figure out this gross simplistic format of a dupe.  On the other hand this is easily solved by having one selection, and say an ace and king of hearts.  Then there is no problem using just your regular 52 cards and in most cases is more powerful to laymen.  So we should ask ourselves how this pans out doing it through glass.  If the card were signed then this WOULD be an effect.  As of now it’s just a rotating mess *cough*

I get fooled all the bloody time.  But when I watch a video and can think of what I’m sure the method is, laymen will do the same, and normally be correct.  Even if they are wrong they will still satisfy themselves in thinking they figured it out.  That is an important key that seems to be mostly lost anymore.  Even an incorrect solution to a laymen is 100 percent correct in his own mind.  There should at least be a very doubtful moment of any laymen solution.

To all the Ellusionites that are actually going to spend 70 dollars on this *snicker*, enjoy.  It’s your life but think of what you could get, or have gotten in books.  This effect just isn’t very good though you’d swear by the hype and reactions of people on the net it’s the next big classic.  As quickly forgotten as it came, as trendy as that shirt you bought but never wear because your friends let you know it’s kind of gay.  If we don’t laugh at these kids a little sometimes they will never blossom into the real world of good magic.  They want your money Twan, for something you should be able to figure out in a couple of seconds.  If you haven’t you really should start buying some REAL books.  Card with a flap or a volume of Apocalypse for the same price?

I personally would never perform this kind of thing.  People actually do I guess.  Good luck with that.  Keep your head up high Twan, nothing wrong with being gay.  You’ll just get a little more emotional than the straight guys sometimes.

Do they get to choose the card that they want to put behind the glass? Is the card? put behind the glass in front of them?

just when i think i,ve seen it all, ,magic like this comes along and shows me that its not a trick or an effect but REAL? magic, 10/10 cant wait to get it